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Planning, Not Wishing: Part 4 — The Simple 3-Page Plan for Q1 [E238]

Planning, Not Wishing: Part 4 — The Simple 3-Page Plan for Q1 [E238]

Chris Cotton Weekly Blitz Dec 29, 2025 10 min
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About this episode

Planning for a successful Q1 requires more than just hope; it demands a clear, actionable strategy. Chris outlines a straightforward three-page plan that focuses on honesty, measurable goals, and consistent execution. He emphasizes the importance of identifying what worked and what didn't in the previous year, setting specific metrics, and establishing daily accountability. With practical examples and a structured approach, this episode provides a roadmap for shop owners to transform their operations and achieve tangible results in the new year.

Topics: quarterly planning goal setting shop metrics accountability behavior change execution strategies
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This is the Automotive Repair Podcast Network.
It's your weekly blitz with Chris keeping you in the game.
All right, everybody, here we are for the last, this is Episode 4 in this series.
It's a couple of days before New Year's Eve.
This is the final thing for this year that I want you to think about, planning not wishing
the simple three-page plan for quarter one, all right?
January doesn't magically fix your shop.
A new calendar year doesn't wipe away old habits and hoping that next year will be better
is like hoping that alignments will do themselves.
If you want a different 2026, you need a different plan, not a bigger one, not
a prettier one, just one you're actually going to use.
So today I'm giving you the exact three-page plan that top performing shops used to
dominate Q1, simple, tactical, repeatable.
Let's get into it.
Why do most shop plans fail?
January's war, most owners fall into the same trap.
Oh, January's always slow, bullshit.
They get excited.
They get motivated.
Great.
And they set massive goals.
And by week number two, gone, forgotten, dust, why?
Because their plan was either too big, too complicated, too vague, not tied to behavior,
not shared with the team, not measurable, not part of a weekly rhythm.
Again, January's always slow.
I don't believe it for a second.
January is what you make of it, same as the rest of the year.
Most shop plans aren't really plans.
Their wish is written down in a notebook.
A good plan isn't about inspiration.
A good plan is about clarity, simplicity, and execution.
That's why today's episode is built around the simplest, most effective framework I've
ever used with shops.
The three-page plan for Q1.
No 30 pages, not a binder, no corporate textbook.
Just three pages you're actually going to look out and actually follow.
Page one is going to be the hardest page because it requires honesty.
And here's what goes into it.
I want you to think about the current year you're in, and I want you to think about
what worked this year.
I want you to be specific, what actually produced results.
An example would be morning huddles increased communication and lowered comebacks.
We raised our labor rate and saw no resistance.
We improved our DVI completion rate.
Our advisor training increased average of per order by $120.
If it worked, write it down.
This tells you what to keep.
Next, I want you to think about what didn't work.
This is where most owners want to lie to themselves.
Here's some things to think about.
We stopped doing follow-up calls.
Our parts pricing was inconsistent.
We let scheduling get sloppy.
We didn't train enough.
We tolerated poor communication.
If it didn't work, you have to bring it from the background of the foreground and confront
it.
Okay?
Don't lie to yourselves.
Be truthful.
Think about what didn't work and how you're going to fix it.
Next I want you to think about the one thing that has to be fixed in Q1.
It's not 15 things, not 10, not 5, 1.
Okay.
Maybe if you twist my arm around, maybe 2, but 2 max.
Shops change faster when they fix one thing completely instead of 10 things halfway.
This is what happens when you go to a training and I talk about it.
Us as owners, we come back from a training and we have a legal pad filled with 100 things
we want to do.
You come back, you talk about the first thing, and then you talk about the other
20 things.
Then the next week, you look to the left to number 21 through 40, and then everybody
in your organization looks with you.
That's called organizational whiplash.
Then you're like, oh crap, I forgot about this, and you look back, and then everybody
looks back with you.
Everybody's two steps behind you because you're whipping around.
Okay?
You fix one thing, maybe two things, and then when it's good and fixed, meaning
you focused on it for several weeks and it goes fine without you having to come
back and hold people accountable to it, then it's fixed and you can move on.
Okay?
Again, shops change faster when they fix one thing completely instead of 10 things
halfway.
I think that this is the key behavior that will move everything.
This is the secret.
Behavior drives action.
Action drives metrics, metrics drive profit.
So what is one behavior if everyone did it would transform Q1 for you?
Is it complete DVIs every time?
Is it complete estimates every time?
Is it communication updates three times daily?
Is it following up on every unsold job?
Is it tracking and adjusting the parts margin daily?
What is it?
What is one thing that would transform Q1 if we all did it?
And page one is your truth page and great leaders build from truth.
Okay?
Hey everybody.
This episode of the weekly Blitz is brought to you by Shop Marketing Pros.
They are the marketing engine behind some of the most successful auto repair shops in the
country.
If you want more customers, if you want more visibility and you want more control over
your brand, I want you to reach out to Shop Marketing Pros.
Tell them Chris sent you.
Page two, these are goals that actually matter.
Page two is going to be your metrics page.
These are the only numbers you need to win Q1.
Everything else is noise.
I'm going to list some off of here.
It's up to you to decide how many of these you want and what you're going to do with them.
Maybe number one is average apparel order target.
This is your most powerful metric.
Set a number, build your behavior plan around it.
Goal number two could be car count.
I want you to be intentional, not accidental.
Don't chase volume, chase the right customers.
Define your ideal car count per day and per tech.
Maybe number three is technician productivity.
Cars build per tech per day.
This metric alone can transform your gross profit like no other.
The next one could be labor gross profit.
You should know this number cold.
Raise it five points and you can change your whole business.
Next part's gross profit.
This is where most shops bleed profit without realizing it and it's the touchiest.
Number six, comeback rate.
You can't grow until you stop leaking profit.
Comebacks are just a profit leak.
Some shops do customer experience metrics.
This could be communication cadence, first response time, Google review goals, follow
up goals.
In my mind, I think if you do everything else well, this will take care of itself.
If you were taking as a shop and your average Google rating was 4.3 or less, then I would
definitely put this on there.
If it seems like it's falling, now you need to pick three key behaviors.
This is magic.
So pick three behaviors that drive every number that we just talked about.
What are the example behaviors?
Every DVI complete and clear, every estimate complete and delivered, advisors follow up
on every deferred job, daily KPI check-ins, end of day team alignment.
When you take behaviors and move them into actions and move them into metrics and
follow them up with metrics, then you get results.
So don't set your goals without behaviors.
What are the behaviors you want to see to get the goals you want?
Page three is the action calendar.
Page three is where planning meets execution.
If page one is truth and page two is targets, then page three is traction.
This page answers who's responsible, what gets done, when it happens, how often it
repeats, how it's tracked, what accountability looks like.
And so maybe if we were thinking about a weekly rhythm, what does it look like?
You know, Monday we have a KPI kickoff.
We review average repair order, car count, gross profit, productivity, and behaviors.
And we set focus for the week.
Every day we have morning huddles.
10 minutes equals clarity, energy, and alignment.
Wednesday it's an advisor check-in, sales skills, estimate review, communication.
Friday a tech meeting, real quick, 10 minutes or less.
What were some wins?
What were some fixes?
What do we need?
And then what does next week look like?
Every day you're going to do behavior reinforcement.
You know, your three behaviors that tie into this stuff are the heartbeat.
And every week you should be having accountability meetings,
having accountability measures.
Did we do what we said we would do?
We either did or we didn't.
And then we have to execute.
Execution beats intensity.
Small steps equals big quarters.
Most shop owners start the year with excitement and hope,
and then excitement fades and hope isn't a strategy.
What wins quarter one is clarity, simplicity, and consistency.
The three-page plan that I just outlined becomes your compass.
It keeps you from drifting, keeps your team aligned.
It helps you replace chaos with confidence.
Don't wish for a better year.
I want you to go out and build one.
If you got a topic you want me to cover,
hit me, Chris, at autofixsos.com.
Again, a huge thank you to our sponsor, Shop Marketing Pros,
for supporting this series
and helping us move the industry forward.
And I also want you to remember,
go out, check out all the shows
on the Automotive Repair Podcast Network,
download the app, and learn from the best in the business.
Have a great day, everybody.
You've been listening to The Weekly Blitz
with Chris Cotton on the Automotive Repair Podcast Network.
Download our exclusive podcast app
at automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com
because the best conversations in the industry start here.
Want expert advice on running your shop?
Well, Chris is listening.
Check the show notes for his email and send him your topics.

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